Anybody lose their Swing Arm End Caps?

Henry Bowman

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Dec 20, 2021
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So I read the other posts about the swing arm end caps, my right side one broke off the other day, and after looking in the road for an hour I realized I had replaced the unit as a whole, and the original one was sitting in my parts box.
Now I see that it is a weak design, and lord help you if you lost the left side too, but my question for you guys this evening is What should be the the correct tension? if its too tight, it snaps and too loose and it doesn't hold grease.

How snug do you guys make that tiny little nut on the end?
 
My understanding is you're not to grease them - heavy oil.
Doesn't answer your question though.
I would fit the cap clean and dry with Loctite 577 (thread lock plus sealant) then pump oil in.
Cheers
 
FWIW, be careful on how you put oil into the swingarm. Many years ago I figured that the best way to do it is to use a grease gun with oil in it. I figured wrong. :( A few quick pumps of the grease gun generated sufficient pressure to strip the threads on the long/thin screw and blow the end caps off! :eek:
 
MexicoMike said:
FWIW, be careful on how you put oil into the swingarm. Many years ago I figured that the best way to do it is to use a grease gun with oil in it. I figured wrong. :( A few quick pumps of the grease gun generated sufficient pressure to strip the threads on the long/thin screw and blow the end caps off! :eek:
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I think the best way to introduce the oil is through the single bolt hole that retains the swinging arm pin
 
I filled mine with oil by putting the oil in an oil can, taking off the grease nipple, pressing the oil can
spout against the hole and pumping oil in.
Amazingly it worked well and I did feel hydraulic lock when no more oil went in
The problem is that I had a month or two of the oil dripping out from somewhere !
But I know that it will be good for a year after which I will do it again!
Dennis
 
Like many others I converted the cradle tube swinging arm locating bolt to a quill
With a rubber tube connected and a small revovoir for the oil under the seat
My lack of maintenance and riding on salted roads had rusted the pin previously
Now all I have to do is open the seat and top up when I think of it
 
Henry Bowman said:
Thank you for the info, I did not realize it was an oil reservoir.
Are you guys using engine oil or gear oil?
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Very special 140W natural gear lube, only extracted from blonde haired, blue eyed frauleins located only in the Black Forest region of the Fatherland
🤣😜🍻
 
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I use this: https://www.jewellamberoil.com/

It flows when it's warm and congeals when it cools so it doesn't drip out like 140wt oil. Is it good? Is it better? Am I stupid to use it.... ?? I'm sure the forum will judge...

I have it in a grease gun that I put a few pump on the nipple every few years. I also changed the nipple to a standard bubble type nipple so the grease gun tip locks on it and stays on when I pump it, instead of that "Euro-nipple" which I couldn't figure out.
 
I think a few pumps every few years is really not a well programmed service. Perhaps fill the reservoir once a year
and watch it slowly drip out past the O rings and foul the rear wheel so you know it is doing it's job. The point is to saturate the
sintered bronze bearings with OIL, not light grease which will just plug up the works. You want it to drip out to let you know
what a strangely engineered motorcycle you have. Forget the grease gun and just squirt oil in the opening after you unscerew
the "grease" fitting.
 
I have a barbed fitting that goes in where the fitting is. Put a hose on the barbed end, small funnel on the other end, fill with oil and leave it alone to gravity feed in.
 
MikeG said:
I have a barbed fitting that goes in where the fitting is. Put a hose on the barbed end, small funnel on the other end, fill with oil and leave it alone to gravity feed in.
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A guy in our local club has done similar, a hose off a barb where zerk fitting was...and a clear Tygon hose up and forwrd maybe 5 or 6 inches, oil filled with a cap on end
Gives easy visual check. Easy to top up once in a while.
 
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